Joe McCarthy was the senator from Wisconsin who catapulted to fame using Cold War fears of communism. He would wave a blank sheet of paper in front of the Senate and say it contained a list of secret communists in congress. He scared the right people enough to let him run things for a while. We see a lot of the same garbage today in a slightly different context, but some people it turns out, still haven't even gotten over the preachings of McCarthy. In Wisconsin, there are still graveside ceremonies celebrating his accomplishments. They're held on the day of his death. Or birth. Better attend both if you're the kind of person interested in going. Besides being a famous Wisconsin politician and legendary fearmonger, McCarthy was also a notorious drunk. And guess what? I met one of his old drinking buddies. Nice guy -- not crazy at all. It was a good reminder that you don't have to be a sociopath to occasionally find yourself accidently supporting the policies of one.
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